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Last updated 2021-05-06

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Joe Roe

I am a computational archaeologist specialising in Southwest Asian prehistory. I use data science to study human ecology and cultural evolution in past societies; develop research software and open datasets for reproducible quantitative analysis in archaeology; and direct field surveys using digital recording and geoinformatics technology.

Education

MPhil/PhD in Archaeology

UCL Institute of Archaeology

University College London

current - 2013

MA Archaeology (Distinction)

UCL Institute of Archaeology

University College London

2013 - 2012

  • Dissertation: Cultural phylogeny of kurgan burial mounds in the west Eurasian steppe
  • Supervisor: Prof. Stephen Shennan

BA Anthropology & Archaeology (1st class hons.)

Departments of Anthropology & Archaeology

Durham University

2011 - 2008

  • Dissertation: Spatial analysis of intra-site surface collection data from a Cucuteni-Tripolye mega-site
  • Supervisor: Prof. John Chapman

Secondary education

Woodkirk High School

Leeds

2008 - 2001

Academic appointments

Projektmitarbeiter

Institute of Archaeological Sciences

University of Bern

current - 2021

Research assistant

CSEAS

University of Copenhagen

2020 - 2017

  • Collaborative research on early agricultural societies in Southwest Asia
  • Responsibility for archaeological survey and spatial analysis components of the “Tracking Cultural and Environmental Change” project and Shubayqa Archaeological Project
  • Developed databases and software interfaces for the group’s research data, working with PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Javascript, and PHP
  • Lecturer on Near Eastern Archaeology BA and MA programmes

Publications

My publications reflect a number of ongoing collaborations with domain-specialist colleagues, bringing a data science perspective to addressing multidisciplinary research questions in prehistory.

Conference presentations

See my homepage for abstracts and posters.

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2021

  • Roe, J., Out with the new, in with the old: recent advances in palaeoecological modelling with open data. Presented at the Association for Environmental Archaeology Spring Meeting 2021: Open Science Practices in Environmental Archaeology, Oxford.
  • Roe, J., A revised radiocarbon chronology of Ganj Dareh. Presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Archaeological Association, ‘Ganj Dareh Then and Now: Integrating Past and Current Research’.
  • Pedersen, P. N., Roe, J., & Richter, T., Free foragers? A case for transient social inequality at Epipalaeolithic Shubayqa, eastern Jordan. Presented at the 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Bologna.
  • Roe, J., On uncertain ground: modelling human palaeoecology in the Azraq basin, eastern Jordan, 24,000–8,000 BP. Presented at the 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Bologna.

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2019

  • Roe, J., **Gorram shiny!* An accessible interface for reproducible landscape archaeology with R and fieldwalkr*. Presented at Computer Applications & Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), Kraków.
  • Richter, T., Arranz Otaegui, A., Jones, M., Roe, J., & Yeomans, L., Environmental Crisis and Societal Collapse: Was the Younger Dryas a significant factor in triggering the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic in the Levant?. Presented at ‘Culture in Crisis: Flows of Peoples, Artifacts and Ideas’, the 14th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ 14), Florence.
  • Arranz-Otaegui, A., Roe, J., Pantos, G. A., Santana, J., Araus-Cabrera, J. L., Le Roux, P., & Richter, T., Locally available or imported? Identifying the provenance of Natufian plant food and fuel resources at Shubayqa 1 (northeastern Jordan). Presented at the 18th conference of the International Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP), Lecce.
  • Buffington, A., Olson, K., Roe, J., Al Kathiri, A. A., McCorriston, J., Over Mountains and Through Woods: survey results and preliminary spatial analysis of the 2018 field season of the Ancient Socio-Ecological Systems in Oman (ASOM) project. Presented at the 53rd Seminar for Arabian Studies, Leiden.
  • Roe, J., & Richter, T., Mutable mobilities: 15,000 years of nomadic settlement in the Qa’ Shubayqa, eastern Jordan. Presented at the 53rd Seminar for Arabian Studies, Leiden.
  • Pantos, G. A., & Roe, J., A halfway house: open source tools for tidy photographic and 3D data management between the field and the archive. Presented at Computer Applications & Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), Kraków.
  • Roe, J., The Q Continuum: open source GIS tools for paperless field survey. Presented at Computer Applications & Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), Kraków.
  • Roe, J., Pedersen, P. N., Khosravi, S., A survey of early prehistoric sites in the Razavar Valley (Kermanshah, Iran). Presented at the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) annual conference, Liverpool.

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2018

  • Roe, J., Is there anything R can’t do?. Presented at the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) conference, Tübingen.
  • Roe, J., fieldwalkr: an R package for spatial sampling and field survey simulation. Presented at the Landscape Archaeology Conference (LAC), Newcastle & Durham.
  • Richter, T., Arranz-Otaegui, A., Boaretto, E., Jones, M., Roe, J., & Yeomans, L., Reconstructing Environmental Impacts on Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Societies in the Marginal Zone of the southern Levant: A Case Study from Shubayqa. Presented at the XVIII UISPP World Congress, Paris.
  • Roe, J., The Zagros in Prehistory: geography, chronology, demography. Presented at the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) annual conference, Liverpool, 2019, and the KU Archaeology Day.

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2017

  • Martin, L. & Roe, J., The Complexities of Mammalian Body Size Change in Late Pleistocene to Holocene Southern Levant, 35 years on. Presented at ‘From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic: themes in European zooarchaeology’, Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon.

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2016

  • Roe, J., A greener model of palaeoenvironments in the eastern Levant. Presented at Unravelling the Palaeolithic, Southhampton.

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2015

  • Allentuck, A., Martin, L., Roe, J., Domestic maintenance practices in the Early Epipalaeolithic of the Jordanian steppe. Presented at the 12th International Symposium of the ICAZ Archaeozoology of Southwest Asia and Adjacent Areas Working Group (ASWA), Groningen.
  • Roe, J. & Martin, L., Open season: modelling prehistoric wildlife dynamics in Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic Jordan. Presented at the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) annual conference, London.
  • Allentuck, A., Roe, J., Martin, L., Macdonald, D., & Maher, L., Zooarchaeological evidence for domestic maintenance in the Early Epipalaeolithic. Presented at the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology (BANEA) annual conference, London.

Software & datasets

I am also an active contributor to a number of other open source software and open data projects.

Trypillia mega-sites of the Ukraine

Archaeology Data Service

N/A

2019

Field projects

In the field, I specialise in site prospection, intrasite survey, digital recording and GIS.

I was responsible for the survey component Shubayqa Archaeological Project (2018–2019), including designing the research strategy, planning and obtaining permits, and directing teams on the ground.

Co-director

Shubayqa Archaeological Project

Jordan

2019

Supervisor

Razavar Valley Survey

Iran

2018

Field archaeologist & supervisor

Shubayqa Archaeological Project

Jordan

2018 - 2015

Field archaeologist

Kharaneh IV Project

Jordan

2015

Field archaeologist & supervisor

Tripillia Mega-Sites Project

Ukraine

2014 - 2012

Supervisor

Mirkovo Project

Bulgaria

2012

Trainee

Tripillia Mega-Sites Project

Ukraine

2009

Trainee

York Archaeological Trust

England

2007

Grants & scholarships

Project grant

Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond

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2019

  • “Connecting the Dots: Reconfiguring the Indo-European family tree”
  • Named applicant. PI: Dr. Thomas Olander

Fieldwork grant

Det Danske Institut i Damaskus

N/A

2018

  • 115,000 DKK to support archaeological fieldwork in eastern Jordan (2019)
  • Co-applicant with Dr. Tobias Richter

Fieldwork grant

H. P. Hjerl Hansen Mindefondet for Dansk Palæstinaforskning

N/A

2018

  • 50,000 DKK to support archaeological fieldwork in eastern Jordan (2019)
  • Co-applicant with Dr. Tobias Richter

Project grant

C. L. Davids Fond og Samling

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2016

  • “Tracking Cultural and Environmental Change: the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic in the Seimarreh Valley, central Zagros”
  • Named applicant. PIs: Prof. Peder Mortensen, Dr. Tobias Richter, Dr. Hojjat Darabi

Institute of Archaeology Award

UCL Institute of Archaeology

London

2015

  • Individual grant (£1888) to participate in archaeological fieldwork in eastern Jordan

Research Students’ Conference Grant

London Centre for the Ancient Near East (LCANE)

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2014

PhD Studentship

Leverhulme Trust

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2013

  • Part of Research Project Grant RPG-2013-223

Research-preparation Masters Award

Arts and Humanities Research Council

N/A

2012

Teaching & public engagement

Promoting computational tools, and especially R, in archaeology has been a particular focus; I have experience in teaching at a range of levels, as well as informally mentoring students and colleagues.

Course lecturer

Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies

University of Copenhagen

current - 2018

  • BA: “Practical Archaeology 1” (Arkæologisk praksis 1, HNAB0100FU), “Practical Archaeology 2” (Arkæologisk praksis 2, HNAB0102EU), “Science and Theory of Science” (Videnskabsteori, HTOR0102FU)
  • KA: “Theory and Method in Near Eastern Archaeology” (HNAK0101EU), “Environments and landscapes in the archaeological record of southwest Asia” (HNAB0102FU), “Neolithic to Early Urban Periods in the Near East” (HNAK0102EU), “Project-based course” (HNAK0100FU)

Instructor

“R for Archaeologists” winter school

University of Pisa

current - 2020

Workshop organiser

Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies

University of Copenhagen

2020

  • Two-day workshop on mobile GIS for linguistic field research

Postgraduate Teaching Assistant

UCL Institute of Archaeology

University College London

2016 - 2015

  • ARCL2028 Research & Presentation Skills

Tutor

The Brilliant Club

Schools in London

2016 - 2014

  • Designed and delivered a university-style tutorial course for primary and high school students

Student Volunteer

Maths and Archaeology workshop

Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

2015

  • Outreach event for high school students organised by Dr. Alice Stevenson (Petrie Museum) and Dr. Luciano Rila (UCL Mathematics) and supported by the London Mathematical Society

Professional service

Peer review

Journals

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  • Advances in Archaeological Practice (1)
  • PLOS ONE (1)

Peer review

Conferences

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  • CAA2020 (3)
  • CAA2021 (7)

Session organiser

CAA2019

Kraków

2019

  • S06: Recent advances in spatial statistics for archaeology

Senior Editor

Papers from the Institute of Archaeology

University College London

2016 - 2014

Postgraduate Student Representative

UCL Institute of Archaeology

University College London

2016 - 2014

  • Communications Committee
  • Publications Committee

Editorial Assistant

Papers from the Institute of Archaeology

University College London

2014 - 2013

Conference organiser

Postgraduate Zooarchaeology Forum (PZAF)

London

2014

Professional memberships

I am especially active in CAA International and its special interest group for scientific scripting languages.

Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology International

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current - 2014

  • Member of Review College (2018–present)
  • Member of ‘Scientific Scripting Languages in Archaeology’ special interest group (2019–present)

Workshop & seminar participation

“Scientific Scripting Languages in Archaeology” Roundtable

CAA2019

Kraków

2019

“Connecting the Dots”

International Summer School

Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel

2018

Shubayqa Project Workshop

Workshop

University of Copenhagen

2017

Near East Climate Workshop

Workshop

University of Nottingham

2016

Other employment & volunteering

In my work with Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, I seek to promote engagement between academic archaeology and the free knowledge movement.

Editor & administrator

English Wikipedia

N/A

current - 2010

  • Community-appointed administrator
  • Elected member of the Arbitration Committee (2019–2020)

Gateway Advisor

Kirklees Citizens Advice Bureau

Dewsbury

2018

Curatorial assistant

Gradski Musej Vršac

Vršac

2012

Software engineer

TPP SystmOne

Leeds

2012

  • Front-end and data migration programming for a large clinical systems developer, working with Java and SQL